Pope Benedict appoints bishop in Hamilton

Bishop

In one of his last bishop appointments, Pope Benedict has appointed a Kitchener native auxiliary bishop in Hamilton.

Rev. Daniel J. Miehm, 52, a graduate
of St. Jerome’s High School in Kitchener, will assist the Bishop of
Hamilton, Douglas Crosby, in his duties. The appointment was announced
Wednesday from Rome.

Miehm has most recently been pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Milton, part of the Diocese of Hamilton.

Miehm said he expects to be a “very close collaborator’’ with Bishop Crosby.

“I will have some involvement in the administration of the diocese going forward,” he said.

The position has been vacant since November 2010, when Gerard Bergie was appointed bishop of the diocese of St. Catharines.

Miehm was called to a meeting in
Ottawa last week with the Pope’s representative in Canada, Archbishop
Pedro Lopez Quintana. Miehm said Quintana mentioned the Pope’s
resignation, and that this was one of the pope’s last bishop
appointments.

“It’s kind of a special thing,” Miehm said.

Miehm admitted he had a suspicion
something was going on over the past few months. “Just the odd comment
here and there — people thought maybe I’d be a good candidate,” he said.

A priest doesn’t apply to be a bishop. Others apply on his behalf.

Miehm will be ordained a bishop and
will have all the sacramental power of a bishop while functioning as a
deputy to the bishop of Hamilton.

The role of a bishop is to be a shepherd, he said. “First and foremost, a bishop must always be a pastor to his people.”

Miehm studied at St. Jerome’s College
of the University of Waterloo, St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto,
Saint Paul University in Ottawa, and the Pontifical University of Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Rome, where he earned a licentiate in canon law in 1996.

“Kitchener, in a real sense, is still
my home,” he said. “It’s still where my family is. I haven’t lived
there for 30 years, but it still is a place I consider home.”

His 89-year-old father, Jerome, still lives in the first family home. His mother, Theresa, is deceased.

Jerome Miehm said Wednesday that he
was surprised at the appointment. “It was a pleasant surprise,” he said,
adding that he won’t be calling him Your Excellency. “I don’t think
I’ll be using that expression in private conversation. I used to find it
hard enough to refer to him as Father Dan,” he joked.

“We’ll probably just continue to call him Dan.”

The appointment was well received by Waterloo Region’s Catholic School Board.

“The students, staff and trustees of
Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools offer their prayers of support and
best wishes to Bishop-elect Miehm as he embarks upon his important new
ministry,” said a press release from the board.